Development of a New Copolymer for Oil Field Carbonate Scale Mitigation

摘要

Calcite scale deposition along the flow path is the most common among flow assurance problems in oil wells. Frequent well cleaning creates a major increase in operating cost. In order to minimize the formation of scale deposits, threshold scale inhibitor treatment is a common practice in oil industry. The authors describe synthesis, characterization, and comparative evaluation of a low molecular weight maleic acid-methacrylic acid copolymer as potential calcite scale inhibitor. GPC and FT-IR were employed for molecular characterization;;scale inhibition efficiency was studied through a static jar test, a dynamic tube block method, and also through an electrochemical technique (e.g., electrochemical impedance technique). SEM analysis demonstrated inhibited and uninhibited crystal morphology, and 100% scale inhibition was possible at a low dose of 20-25 ppm throughout the test regime.